Intel Prepares Wireless Mode Support For QAT Gen6 Hardware

Intel is preparing to add wireless mode support to their QuickAssist Technology (QAT) Gen6 hardware for the upcoming Linux 7.1 kernel. This development builds upon the initial QAT Gen6 driver enablement that landed in Linux 6.16 last year.

What's New in QAT Gen6 Wireless Mode

The wireless mode appears to target specific SKUs based on a fuse bit configuration. When activated, the hardware loads a separate firmware binary optimized for wireless cryptography standards. This specialized mode restricts the device to symmetric cryptography operations only.

QAT Gen6 wireless mode introduces several new capabilities:

• ZUC-256 support for enhanced encryption
• 5G cryptographic acceleration
• Extended algorithm chaining for complex wireless protocols
• ZUC and SNOW3G-UEA2 algorithm support
• AES-F8 and AES-CMAC-256 for legacy compatibility

Technical Implementation

The patch queued in the crypto subsystem reveals the technical details of this implementation. When the WCP_WAT fuse bit is clear, the device operates in wireless cipher mode (wcy_mode). In this mode:

• All accelerator engines load wireless-specific firmware
• Service configuration via 'cfg_services' sysfs attribute is restricted to 'sym' only
• The get_accel_cap() function reports wireless-specific capabilities gated by slice-disable fuse bits
• Watchdog timers are configured for wireless cipher (WCP) and wireless authentication (WAT)

Comparison to Previous Generations

QAT Gen5 hardware already supported wireless algorithms including ZUC-128, SNOW3G-UEA2, AES-F8, and AES-CMAC-256. The Gen6 iteration significantly expands this capability with ZUC-256 support and 5G acceleration, addressing the growing cryptographic demands of modern wireless networks.

Linux Integration

The wireless mode enablement patch is currently in the cryptodev Git branch, awaiting the Linux 7.1 merge window opening in April. This timing suggests Intel is working closely with the Linux kernel community to ensure proper integration of these specialized capabilities.

Performance Implications

While specific benchmarks aren't yet available, the addition of wireless mode support to QAT Gen6 hardware could provide significant performance benefits for:

• 5G base stations and infrastructure
• Wireless access points with high throughput requirements
• Network functions virtualization (NFV) environments
• Edge computing deployments handling wireless traffic

Future Developments

It remains to be seen what other feature patches for QAT Gen6 will surface. The wireless mode support represents a significant expansion of QAT's capabilities beyond traditional network and storage acceleration, positioning Intel's hardware as a versatile solution for emerging wireless infrastructure needs.

The development of specialized wireless cryptographic acceleration reflects the increasing complexity and performance demands of modern wireless standards, particularly as 5G networks continue to expand globally.